Victoria August

Hugo is away again.. Working in the snow! Poor bloke! 

I leave the sunshine of the Emerald City to make my way south to meet H in Melbourne. 

Overnighter in a gorgeously refurbished Hotel Provincial in Ballarat, before heading to Halls Gap for lunch. 

Off to Stawell to surprise a birthday boy for his 21st! Great night! Warm by the fire and a beer or two to celebrate. 

Sunday saw us off to Warnambool and onwards down the Great Ocean Rd to Melbourne. 

We went through 4 seasons, from Gail to sunshine, rain n wind.. It was a great adventure. 

Overnighted in Geeling before an early morning flight back to the warm country. 😄

Airlie Beach July

Hugo has been away from Qld all year so when the job ended it was high time for some sun, sand n salt water. 

Off to Airlie on a road trip..

 

Three days of beautiful food, sunny days and a great view. 

Now to decide whether or not I'm going to move there.... Oh the temptation.. 

Hugo's birthday July Brisbane

What a great weekend! 

All ten kids together for the first time, plenty of laughs and much mischief to be had. 

Started off at Newstead Brewing Company before heading into the Valley for some late night ciders n laughs. 

Some very sore heads the next day but plenty of fun to celebrate the Big 50! 

Happy birthday!!! 

Brisbane Birthdays

Off to Brisbane this week to celebrate a number of worthy occasions.

Hugo is home for the week, always worthy of celebrating and a couple of family birthday's.

Hugo and I headed to the City on Tuesday, seeing the accountant and then heading to the Absinthe Circus Show. It had some great acts, but we left there a bit disappointed and so stopped by the Grand Central for a nightcap. One drink turned into 10 and before we knew it, we had missed the last train home and we headed back down the ramp to catch a cab.

Cate turns 18 and the family has chosen to head to the big smoke to celebrate in style. Eat Street Markets, complete with Mulled Wine and Curry on Friday night, before airport collections began

Saturday saw the sun rise on a Beautiful winters day in Qld, off to the Farmers Market in Carseldine, before heading to UQ to watch CD play AFL.

Sometimes a tough and hard hitting match, and at others it looked like a Under 8's Soccer Game, such as the girls were huddled around the ball, leaving so much of the field a wide open paddock.

From there it was off to Chermside to catch up with the others, have lunch and head back to the City Castle to regroup.

Saturday Night saw us heading to the Boundary Street Markets for dinner, drinks and music, before the oldies headed home and the youngies headed to the Valley via the Casino.

Uneventful trip home to the Castle on the train, and barely awoken by the kids getting home safely at 2.30am.

Sunday saw the kids backing up their efforts at Eat Street for lunch, Hugo and I adopting a much more sedate approach and lunching at home before making dinner for some of Hugo's family who visited for dinner and a cake to celebrate CD's and AB's birthdays.. As neither of those two arrived for dinner, Cate did the honours of cutting the cake and little Miss Almost 2 was transfixed.

Passing the plate back to her Mum and saying Get More, was a fair indication that the cake was a hit.

All in all, a great week, and after putting Hugo back on the plane bound for NSW this morning, I headed home to prepare for the end of the financial year onslaught of book work.

Adelaide - and Ice Hockey

A quick over nighter to Adelaide - as one does when craving for the company of a kindred spirit.

Flying in to meet at the airport, a quick hello to the boys from WFS and off to the city to check into the Hotel.

There's excitement in the air today, its a cold and wet Adelaide Winters Day and the fans from both local AFL teams are swarming around the pubs n clubs close to the Adelaide Oval.

Given the weather, I am glad that I have chosen to surprise Hugo with some tickets to the Ice Hockey instead of the footy tonight.

Off to the rink early, and found the most incredible and bizarre shop right next door. It had 12 foot tall Indian Statues, Elephants, and Statues of the Blues Brothers and Elvis, nestled right beside replica claw foot baths and neon signs.

It was really cool and a great place to while away 30 minutes out of the weather.

Ice Hockey Arena opened and in we went, amongst the fans from the Sydney Ice Dogs and the local Adelaide Adrenaline - we knew instantly that, although dressed in our best winter clothes, Qld designers just don't think about Southern winters, let alone ice hockey when they create the northern winter collection.

The arena was packed 20 minutes before the game even started, the music was loud, the fans louder.. and then it started. Within 2 minutes of the puck being dropped I had my hands over my eyes, peeking through at the fighting and wrestling taking place on the centre line. Uh Oh, I hate fighting in sport, what was I thinking, how the heck am I going to endure another 45 minutes of this..

For some weird reason Ice Hockey plays 3 3rds, two of 15 minutes and one of 20 minutes. Now, I am a maths nerd and borderline OCD, so you can imagine how I coped when the game took almost 2 hours to complete? How does that happen?

In the end though, I was cheering and clapping, singing and shouting just like the rest of the fans, I think I could easily become addicted to Ice Hockey if it played anywhere within cooee of us.

Almost sad to see the end of the game, we caught the local tram and headed to the Union hotel for dinner and drinks - as the cold wet weather set in, it was a warm respite from the cold, and we awoke the next morning a little less enthusiastic about the day than we were the day before.

Off to Sydney on a lunch time flight, a quick coffee before parting ways and heading different directions yet again..

Sydney - It's Vivid!

I've  been lucky enough to be invited to Sydney to work the week of Vivid. Sydney's a beautiful city any time of the year but to be amongst the lights of Vivid this year is pretty spectacular. There's an air of excitement and anticipation in the air.

Hotel QT in Market Street was superb. It's the place to be, whether for coffee in Parlour Lane, Cocktails in the Bar or a sumptuous dinner in the restaurant. The rooms are well appointed, far flung from the same same approach of the large Chain Hotels. The rooms display an individuality and flair, and from the stage costumes on the ground floor, to the eclectic wall display of suitcases and clocks, this hotel exudes confidence. Staff were for the most, friendly, and although all obvious backpackers, aside from the odd language barrier, were attentive and helpful.

Our vivid experience started on a wet, windy and very cold Friday evening with a cruise through the harbour to celebrate the official Lights On! Moment. Under the iconic Harbour Bridge, past the gaping mouth of Luna Park and into the laser light show on the Opera House and buildings surrounding Circular Quay and Darling Harbour.

Whilst we were shown a bright array of colour and laser light, the display paled in comparision with Brisbane's King George Square and Town Hall Christmas Light Show of 2014, and I was left a little underwhelmed. Perhaps the wet weather was a contributing factor, and after a hasty retreat into a nearby Italian Resturant, to shelter from another downpour, we decided over dinner and a wine to try again tomorrow evening. 

Saturday morning found us wandering the back lanes and alleyways of The Rocks. The cobblestones, the wooden block section of George Street, the bakeries and fresh food stalls of the early Rocks Market, all make this area my favourite place in Sydney. The promise of freshly baked Butter Crossaints lured us into a French Bakery for breakfast as Hugo once again became the object of a photo opportunity.

The Rocks Museum houses some amazing artefacts discovered over the years through archeological diggings in the area. How does a 2000 year old Egyptian relic end up in an area of Sydney only inhabited by the Europeans for the past 200 years? If you ever find yourself in Sydney with an hour or two to kill, make your way to the Museum, it's free and a very interesting place to wander. 

Spoilt for choice in coffee, food, souvenirs and market stalls, The Rocks is a bustling area on a weekend, go early to avoid the crowds but make the time for a pot of Irish Tea n Scones, reported to be the best in Sydney. 

Sitting in the sun, listening to so many different dialects, accents from tourists from around the world, I give thanks that this life is so easily accessible to us as Australians. We have enough food, enough warmth, enough opportunity in this country for all to share. It is the lucky country, still. 

Making our way through the city, watching buskers and fire twirlers reflected in the dark waters of the Bay, we settle in to spend the evening at the Opera Bar, anxiously awaiting the nights light show on the Opera House. Luckily we arrived early enough to secure a fantastic view of both the Bridge and the Opera House, and although we were still convinced Brisbane does it better, it was a pretty cool way to spend an evening.

Thanks Sydney, it's been a fun, albeit a mild Vivid experience. 

Sydney, beautiful Sydney

May 2015... Brisbane to Sydney

Flight to Syndey went very quickly as a great meeting of the minds, with the man in 9A proved to be one of my all time fave people to travel with. Jeremy Coldhands, from Flycookie Fame. What a great man, world traveller, sky diver, risk taker, legend. It was a flight that went oh so quickly due to an endless banter of philosophy, laughter and deep insights of the workings of the human mind. Is it possible that the best way to make someone want to lose weight is for their partner to have an affair? Loved his insight, loved his humour, loved his views on life. 

We covered it all. From life changing falls, to donuts, to the meaning of life and alcohol abstinence. Yep, we talked the whole flight. Best flight partner I've ever had and the Fastest 1.5 hour flight I've ever taken. He's one of those blokes at you would add to the list of 5 people living or dead that I'd invite for dinner. Hopefully Jeremy, we cross paths again, maybe when you're a great author. That said, I'm coming to your book launch for sure.

QT Hotel... OMG, I'm speechless. It has wowed me and so far I've only made it to the ground floor and reception.

It's to be my home away from home for the next few days.. And I am impressed!! 

I booked online, then rolled into reception a little earlier than expected due to fog delaying Hugo's arrival. Eventually I gave up waiting for him at the airport and headed into town to check in.

Gorgeous girl met me at the car, another at reception  and offered to hold my bags whilst I caught up with a dear friend for lunch at Darling Harbour

30 years just slipped away as we laughed and chatted over lunch. It's funny where the world takes us, and somehow the bullied, end up being the most resilient, and the most successful. She exudes confidence, Looks fantastic and has an incredibly wonderful Bondi Life.. Take note high school bullies, one day the bullied may end up being your boss. 

It's prob the first time I've have ever had the time, or the inclination, to mentally examine my high school years. I knew there was a pecking order just as I knew my place within that order. I know I wasn't one of the cool kids, and now that I am 50, I realise I am actually thankful for that. It allowed me the freedom to be who I was, rather than who I should be. And for that I'm pretty grateful. I knew I was funny, I knew I wasn't hip n  happening, but I also knew I wasn't one of the picked on, the bullied. Looking back I enjoyed a kind of anonymity that allowed me to grow as a person without too much drama. And after today's conversation, I'm bloody glad of that. 

I was born in a small town, I grew up and went to the public school and high school in the same town. My grandad was the Shire President. I kinda grew up knowing I had a place in society. A niche. Looking back now, I realise what a fantastic opportunity I was given. I grew up and into a community that knew me, that respected me, and that also expected great things for Me, as a person.  That became the basis of my life's values, and my thinking I was put on earth for a purpose. Hopefully I've instilled that into my children.  And whilst my Grandfather had a huge community spirit, my grandmother was an artist, who travelled round the world. She was tough, and commanded a respect from people without uttering a word. She had, what we now call Executive Presence. She was scary and she meant business. I'm a bit chuffed that some of that has rubbed off on me!

So here I sit, once again at the Sydney Airport, for the second time today but the difference is that I now feel energised, excited at the possibility of meeting up with my old friend again on Saturday, of old lives evolving into new, perhaps of two glasses of wine mellowing me out to a point where the world seems a much less abrasive place to inhabit, and again I find myself counting my blessings.  

Wherever you find yourself today, I hope it's been a great place to hang.